well.jpg Looks like bad times have come for development stage oil and natural gas exploration companies. At least two of them ended up on the biggest losers list for Thursday.

Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. (AMEX: KOG) was amongst the biggest penny stock losers of day on Thursday, losing 15.5%. The good old saying: "What goes up must come down" suits here the best, as Kodiak had been traded at over $5 just a month ago .

What added to the share price fall the most, was a press release announcing that the company is considering selling up to $150 million worth of shares and debt securities. Although it is a common way of funding operational activities, expansion or acquisitions, the announcement still had adverse effects on the stock, presumably due to the potential for shareholder dilution.

Despite that, the company still is on a path of development, which can be clearly seen through the operational updates that the company is not hesitant to release. This drop should only prove to be a temporary short term setback.

Another loser, Gasco Energy, Inc. (AMEX: GSX), has lost 15.2% and even hit a 2 month low on increased volume. No wonder here, as the company has been accelerating up despite decreases in earnings and is only supported by research reports, considering their gas and petroleum reserves. In other words it had no fundamental base to support a long term uptrend.

Looks like some people have surely believed in the company before the fall. Tradeworx Inc. has announced the fund bought over 110 thousand shares on July 16, 2008, just before the stock plunged down. Someone surely didn't do all of their homework there.

It is doubtful if the company's stock will be able to recover the lost value anytime soon. Unless groundbreaking news is announced, the share price will either continue falling or will continue stalling without any measurable trend forming.